Five Things I’m Loving This Friday ~ Handmade Gifts Part 6

Anthropologie knock off Hair Clips from Emily’s Little World.

A Convertible Cowl from The Crimson Owl.

Funky Lavender Sachets from Bugs and Fishes.

Knitted Anything Animals from Petite Purls.

A Felt Laptop Cozy from Betz White.

Five Things I’m Loving This Friday ~ Handmade Gifts Part 5

After a blip last week, with the auto post that didn’t, I’m back with another list. No particular theme this week, just a few things that I thought would make lovely and mostly useful gifts. They are all sewing projects this time.

A Kindle case from Chica and Jo.

A fabric portfolio and notebook holder from The Cottage Home.

Ties from the Purl Bee.

A lens cap pouch from Peta Pixel.

A folding grocery tote from Yarn Geek.

Links to all the previous lists can be found here.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #128

My desk is pretty much how I left it after finishing the painted faces on Sunday.

The space in the middle is where the laptop was until an hour or so ago. Nothing like completing your homework 10 minutes before you have to leave for school. Unfortunately leaving your memory stick, which contains that homework, plugged into the side of the laptop, is not the best idea. Guess where I’ll be going on my way to pilates in a minute!

I’ll be heading over to Julia’s place when I get back, to see what everyone else has been up to this week.

The Face Book Project {Sunday Snippets}

Mel asked, “Who wants to play?”

I answered, “Ooh, yes please Mel!” and this is what I did.

Faces ‘water coloured’ with Distress Inks. I’m loving the new Seedless Preserves.

I added some embossing ink and my favourite Queen’s Gold embossing powder.

Finally a touch of Glossy Accents on her lips and white pen to highlight her eyes.

They are all packaged up now and ready to send to Mel. I can’t wait to see what everyone else has done with them.

I think there are still a few spaces left for phase two, if anyone else fancies joining in. All the details are in the post I linked to at the start.

ETA Oops! I forgot to link to {tinniegirl}

10 Things on the Tenth ~ Story Books to Share

We were sorting out the big bookcase in the lounge at the weekend, as we usually do around this time of year. When we got to the second shelf from the bottom, there was our collection of read aloud picture books. The box was ready and waiting to pack them up and put them in the attic. We took them off the shelf, flicked them with the duster and couldn’t quite resist a little peek inside a few of them. I will just mention at this point, that my children are 12 and 14 years young old. We smiled at the pictures and rhymes we know so well and put them all back on the shelf. Maybe next year they will make it into the box.

So, in no particular order, here are 10 of our favourites.

‘The night Max wore his wolf suit and made mischief of one kind….’

‘Once upon a time there was an Elephant.’

‘Eddy’s off to find his teddy. Eddy’s teddy’s name is Freddy.’

‘One day, when giant Baby Bear was playing in the woods, he found a very small….’

‘The witch had a cat and a very tall hat, And long ginger hair which she wore in a plait. How the cat purred and how the witch grinned, As they sat on their broomsick and flew through the wind.’

‘Winnie the Witch lived in a black house in the forest. The house was black on the outside and black on the inside. The carpets were black. The chairs were black. The bed was black and it had black sheets and black blankets. Even the bath was black.’

“Hello, Dad,” said Bernard. “Not now, Bernard,” said his father.

‘Each Peach Pear Plum I spy Tom Thumb’

‘On a windy hill, alone, with nothing to be friends with, lived Something Else.’

‘The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. So we sat in the house All that cold, cold, wet day.’

It would seem we have a penchant for witches and monsters, bears and small cute creatures and a love of rhyming text. The first two books, I read as a child (although mine came from the library) and the last one actually belonged to my husband, when he was a little boy.

I’m sure there are some in our list that you recognise.

Shimelle is hosting 10 Things on her blog again this month. Pop over if you’d like to see what everyone else is sharing, or to add a list of your own.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #127

It’s another damp day here and I seem to have been ousted from my desk, by my daughter. The family PC is rather elderly and no longer has the ‘oomph’ to run the manga software, she uses with her graphics tablet, so she’s nabbed my laptop.

This is something she created when she first got it for her birthday, back in the Summer. I couldn’t figure out how to access her newer works of art, but I pinned this onto one of my Pinterest boards, when I spotted it on deviantART a while ago.

And this is what I am hoping to create with, once I get my desk back.

The lovely new limited edition Winter Distress Inks. Yes, I succumbed!

To see what everyone else has on their desks this week, head on over to Julia’s place, where you’ll find a hive of activity. I only managed to get round fifty of you last week, must try harder.

Storytelling Sunday ~ On a Dark and Misty Night

When I was a little girl, we didn’t go Trick or Treating and Halloween wasn’t really that big a deal. We made lanterns, not out of a pumpkin, but carved from a mangel-wurzel. I can still remember how much our hands hurt afterwards.

One year, when I was about 10 I think, we went to a Halloween party that our neighbours were throwing. We played lots of fun games, including apple bobbing and trying to grab a bun, tied on a string, without the use of our hands.

Later, we gathered round to tell scary stories and when it got to Midnight (or so it seemed) we all went out for a walk. I don’t think I’d ever been allowed to stay up that late before and it was strange and exciting to be outside in the dark. The local church, where I sang in the choir, was just around the corner and that is where we headed.

With our heads full of spooky tales, we walked up the path to unlatch the gate, but it swung open before us. By now my heart was racing and then I noticed that there was a hand holding the gate. There was a large ring on its finger and a lacy cuff hanging out of the burgundy velvet sleeve.

That was enough for me and I didn’t let my eyes travel any further. I no longer remember who was standing beside me, but we grabbed hold of each other and ran screaming from the churchyard. I can’t tell you how happy I was, to be safely back in the warm bright house.

It wasn’t until a few weeks later, when I was getting my Mum’s sewing machine out of the bottom of her wardrobe, that I noticed a burgundy velvet sleeve hanging there. I nearly jumped out of my skin! Then I realised that while we had been out in the misty night, I couldn’t remember seeing my Dad anywhere.

He had gone ahead to hide behind the wall and give us a scare. In the end, all he needed to do, was pull back the gate and our over active imaginations had done the rest.

I hope you enjoyed my Halloween memory. For lots more stories, head on over to Sian’s place, where you’ll find a warm welcome.

My Month in Numbers ~ October

I read Sian’s Month in Numbers back in September and thought, ‘Ooh that’s a good idea, I must investigate Julie’s blog.’ Of course the thought left my head not long afterwards and before I knew it, another month had rolled by and I was reading Sian’s October numbers, along with an accompanying scrapbook page!

Without further ado (but mostly because if I don’t share them today, I will forget again) here is my own month in numbers.

31 = the number of times I posted during the month of Blogtoberfest. I read about it on Mel’s blog on the first day of October, so it was all a bit last minute and I had no plan in mind. Somehow I muddled through, in my usual fashion and managed to post something every day.

10 = the number of lovely new followers I gained during the month. Welcome.

18 = the temperature that the thermostat was set at.

2 = the number of times the heating kicked in at that setting, during this wonderfully warm October.

0 = the number of trick or treaters that came to our door, on the last day of the month. I was rather disappointed, but the children were not. Probably because…..

20 = the number of lollies (half of them made into spiders with pipe cleaner legs) and

25 = the number of little packages of assorted sweets, that I had got ready for those non-existent spooky visitors.

I’ll definitely be paying more attention to the numbers that pop up during November.

Five Things I’m Loving This Friday ~ Advent Calendars

As the title suggests, I’m showcasing a few of my favourite ‘Countdowns to Christmas’ this week.

Brown paper packages tied up with string.

 

Maya Road envelope banner.

Brown paper bags, decorated with a free printable.

Felt pockets and printable dangles.

Magnetic tokens on a tray.

I’m now thinking that I should have saved this theme for 10 Things on the 10th, as I could easily have listed double the ideas. There are so many gorgeous versions out there, I’m spoilt for choice. Now which one to make?

A Thought for Thursday

Never put passata in a mug you usually drink your coffee from.

What’s On Your Workdesk Wednesday #126

A bit late in the day, but it couldn’t be helped. A lousy photo goes without saying at this time of night, although I don’t think it would have been much different at 4pm!

I’m trying to perfect my rolled roses and I think I still have a little way to go. I’ve seen a project that needs rather a lot of them and unless I can make them more quickly, I’ll be lucky to get it finished by next Christmas.

There’s the usual pile of odds and ends left over from other things and scraps underneath them. The negative chipboard from the reindeer I made last week, stamps and a TH rosette die.

On the right, the letter that my daughter brought home from school today, or rather the form that I need to fill in for her. She is very excited at having the opportunity to go and see The Nutcracker ballet at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. I’m very envious.

My ancient Nokia is on top, as I can never remember what my number is, without looking and the school require us to complete ALL our details, every time they go on a trip.

I think that’s about it for today. Julia is ready to welcome you, if you feel like sharing the contents of your desk too.

Blogtoberfest ~ Thankyous

I wasn’t planning to post today. Now that Blogtoberfest is over and we’re into November, I have completed my self imposed challenge. I’ve got into such a routine over the last month, that I found I couldn’t quite go to bed without posting first.

It’s been an interesting exercise and I’ve learnt a lot these past few weeks. I know that I couldn’t continue posting on a daily basis, nor would I want to. I don’t think I have enough interesting things to say or share and my posts would just be random ramblings. Maybe a bit like this one!

I forgot to thank Cathy for coming up with the idea of Blogtoberfest in the first place and Mel for bringing it to my attention. I also want to thank all those lovely folk out there who have commented on the last 31 posts. It really means a lot.

I’ve found new blogs to visit and I’ll be returning to lots of them.

I’ll be back tomorrow with the contents of my desk. Maybe I’ll see you there.